Does golf lead tape on driver works?

[khalespace]

I have an M5 9*. I have to move the 2 weights to the front because ball flight is too high so I am not able to put a weight in the draw position. Can I add 10 to 20 grams on the heel to reduce fade bias? My fade is around 10 to 15 yards.

[cardigan]

You could always purchase additional weights.  TM might not have them anymore but there are aftermarket options (Golfworks, ebay, etc.).

[khalespace]

2 minutes ago, cardigan said:

You could always purchase additional weights.  TM might not have them anymore but there are aftermarket options (Golfworks, ebay, etc.).

If I put the 3rd weight at the draw position ball flight may be high again. Launch angle was 18* to 19* with the weights back in the max draw position. Now it is about 14* to 15* with the weights forward. My shaft is only 48 grams ( a shortened 50 g shaft).

[nitram]

It depends on the density of the tape but yeah, you can add that much. It'd be worth a try anyway. Just add tape until you get it where you like it. If it looks to hideous, remove the tape, weigh it, and either order the weights (as suggested above) or add hot melt.

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

I did it to achieve fade bias/eliminate hooks and it works very well. 
Takes some tinkering to find the right amount and not to overdo it. Too heavy and consistency went down for me.  

[PEI_Golfer]

This seems like a swing issue or a club completely not fit for the swing you're bringing.  I would think that the shaft is lighter weight then you're thinking as well. 

 

I would sell, take that money and put it towards a fitting and the driver that works best rather than waste more time and money on something you are completely unhappy with.

[xkilgorextroutx]

In my personal experience, yes it works. I posted a pic of my D7 driver in another thread, lead tape at the back added weight and some at the heel helps me close the face better. As an ultralight driver, that club really needed some more heft to it. I can now feel the clubhead during the swing and I spray it far less than before. 

[KBong]

54 minutes ago, PEI_Golfer said:

This seems like a swing issue or a club completely not fit for the swing you're bringing.  I would think that the shaft is lighter weight then you're thinking as well. 

 

I would sell, take that money and put it towards a fitting and the driver that works best rather than waste more time and money on something you are completely unhappy with.

I agree with the above bold.

 

Lead tape is kinda cheap....$10-$15...so inexpensive if he wants to experiment.

[TwistedSister]

That would make it a sledge hammer with all that weight and the current weights. 

[Billfitz]

I'd say your shaft has too high a launch profile. But it's only a guess, since you didn't say what it is.

[Gsea]

[Pepperturbo]

2 hours ago, PEI_Golfer said:

This seems like a swing issue or a club completely not fit for the swing you're bringing.  I would think that the shaft is lighter weight then you're thinking as well. 

 

I would sell, take that money and put it towards a fitting and the driver that works best rather than waste more time and money on something you are completely unhappy with.

He didn't say he was unhappy with his current driver. 

 

Like many of us, all he's doing is trying to adjust, if possible.  I adjust the sleeve to accommodate desired shot trajectory on certain courses.  That's not too much different from seeing if tape might help adjust his fade.  IMO, from what I've seen playing with a lot of faders/slicers, his isn't that big of a deal. 

 

Then there's this…more people fade the ball than hit it straight or draw the ball. 

[jholz]

Um yes, lead tape works on a driver. Try to be strategic with where you apply it to achieve the desired result. Feel free to move it around and experiment. 

 

For me, I just need to make my head heavier after cutting the shaft shorter. Not looking to impact ball flight.

 

I've got a couple of strips that conform to the natural back weighting of the head, then a nice long strip from toe to heel just behind the compression channel on the sole.

 

Works fine. 

[HoosierHacker89]

I say be as liberal as possible with lead tape the more the better! You can't ever have clubs that are too heavy...

[Billfitz]

3 hours ago, Pepperturbo said:

Then there's this…more people fade the ball than hit it straight or draw the ball. 

True, but that's the swing's fault, not the club. It's a lot easier to swing outside in than inside out, whether it's intentional or not. Most of the members of my league who are inveterate slicers have no idea why, they just aim left and live with it, unaware that aiming left can make it worse.

[NoTalentLefty]

Hot melt can work but it’s permanent. I’m using lead tape for SW right now but hot melt is in the near future. 

[Pepperturbo]

21 hours ago, Billfitz said:

True, but that's the swing's fault, not the club. It's a lot easier to swing outside in than inside out, whether it's intentional or not. Most of the members of my league who are inveterate slicers have no idea why, they just aim left and live with it, unaware that aiming left can make it worse.

It may be a swing fault, natural, or on purpose with better amateurs.  Lots of people fade the ball cause that's their natural trajectory or tendency.  Yes, as a result of their swing, but changing what's natural is NOT always wise.   

 

Ball and trajectory control are more important.  I hit the ball straight with driver, and move it right when needed.  I can move it left, but that takes a bit more effort.  My irons are straight too, but I can easily work the ball left or right.

[BIG STU]

On 12/6/2021 at 2:30 PM, Gsea said:

That IMHO is the way to do it ---- when I was dialing in the M-6 I had a roll of it and the T wrench in the basket on the cart. A guy that I do not know saw me and asked what I was doing and I told him. He said well they make different weights for those. I told him yeah I know but this way is cheaper quicker and better for me. He said it looked hideous. I told him who cares? besides it is my club

[Billfitz]

My point is that there's no magic club, or magic club alteration, that's going to fix a fundamental swing fault, nor can one blame the result of a bad swing on their gear. To quote that great golfer Henny Youngman "I went to the doctor. I told him my arm hurts when I do that. He said don't do that!"

[forrester_fire]

No reason it wouldn't.  I would say it probably works better than the sliding weights because you can position as much weight as you want, within reason, exactly where you want it.

[forrester_fire]

52 minutes ago, BIG STU said:

That IMHO is the way to do it ---- when I was dialing in the M-6 I had a roll of it and the T wrench in the basket on the cart. A guy that I do not know saw me and asked what I was doing and I told him. He said well they make different weights for those. I told him yeah I know but this way is cheaper quicker and better for me. He said it looked hideous. I told him who cares? besides it is my club

 

If you ask me, I'm apt to respect the skills of a player with lead tape on his clubs, without seeing him play first.

[BIG STU]

10 minutes ago, forrester_fire said:

 

If you ask me, I'm apt to respect the skills of a player with lead tape on his clubs, without seeing him play first.

LOL back in the day darn near all my clubs had lead tape on them---- Now I am sorta tame I only have lead tape on 5 of them

[BIG STU]

14 minutes ago, forrester_fire said:

No reason it wouldn't.  I would say it probably works better than the sliding weights because you can position as much weight as you want, within reason, exactly where you want it.

Exactly dead on it 110%---- Most folks do not understand that little fact today. If everyone went off the Old School thing then the various manufacturers would not make mucho bucks selling weights and weight kits. 

[khalespace]

Hey everyone, thanks for your advice. The lead tape works. I hope it is not a fluke but suddenly my drives are straight and longer 5 to 8 yards longer. Before I average about 240 at home on Skytrak. It feels more solid at impact too. A reminder that my shaft is around 47 grams because I cut down a 50 grams shaft to 43.5 inches. Moving weights to the front really keep the ball flight down.

Some how my club head speed in Skytrak is wrong. My radar unit says swing speed is around 98 mph while Skytrak says 91 mph. Distance in Skytrak is slightly shorter than on course numbers.

 

I am going to sell my Titleist TSi4 driver. I bought it in an attempt to have a lower trajectory driver. But the TSi4 is damn hard to hit.

 

Edited December 8, 2021 by khalespace

[MrFlipper]

30 minutes ago, khalespace said:

Hey everyone, thanks for your advice. The lead tape works. I hope it is not a fluke but suddenly my drives are straight and longer 5 to 8 yards longer. Before I average about 240 at home on Skytrak. It feels more solid at impact too. A reminder that my shaft is around 47 grams because I cut down a 50 grams shaft to 43.5 inches. Moving weights to the front really keep the ball flight down.

Some how my club head speed in Skytrak is wrong. My radar unit says swing speed is around 98 mph while Skytrak says 91 mph. Distance in Skytrak is slightly shorter than on course numbers.

 

I am going to sell my Titleist TSi4 driver. I bought it in an attempt to have a lower trajectory driver. But the TSi4 is damn hard to hit.

 

 

Very nice!

 

But take a pen or something and rub the lead tape down, especially the edges. Otherwise it may catch on the ground or your headcover or something.

 

Lead tape rubbed in won't come off by itself. Great stuff!

[adamnbomb]

Have an M5 as well and to get the swing weight and feel right I put to pieces of lead tape down each side of the weight track that runs perpendicular to the face

[JCAG]

On 12/6/2021 at 5:41 PM, Billfitz said:

True, but that's the swing's fault, not the club. It's a lot easier to swing outside in than inside out, whether it's intentional or not. Most of the members of my league who are inveterate slicers have no idea why, they just aim left and live with it, unaware that aiming left can make it worse.

My natural swing was always a draw. I say you can talk to a hook, but a slice will not listen. As I have aged, I draw/hook less.

[Billfitz]

My natural swing was a fade, until age forced me to increase my hip rotation to keep my swing speed up. That resulted in more of an inside out swing, and as a result I can fade or draw equally well. When I have a brain cramp and forget to use enough hip rotation the result is a slice. Give it a shot, it should help get back distance and control. The lack of hip rotation is one of the things I notice about my league buddies who slice like Ginsu knives. Along with the slice they can't hit driver more than 180 yards, and I've got twenty years on a lot of them. 😏

[JermWRX]

On 12/6/2021 at 2:30 PM, Gsea said:

So I want my driver head heavier. I put a bunch of lead tape just like this around the perimeter on the bottom of my driver. Went to the range today and it just kept flying off. It wouldn’t stay on more than 5 swings or so. Is there a trick to keep it from flying off, or did I just buy cheap tape?? It’s HD tape from GolfWorks. 

[MikeW2]

16 minutes ago, JermWRX said:

So I want my driver head heavier. I put a bunch of lead tape just like this around the perimeter on the bottom of my driver. Went to the range today and it just kept flying off. It wouldn’t stay on more than 5 swings or so. Is there a trick to keep it from flying off, or did I just buy cheap tape?? It’s HD tape from GolfWorks. 

I had this issue too, would fly off after about 8-9 swings. It was the tape I was using. Without knowing what you have done to the club, very important to make sure surface you are going to apply the tape to is very clean. Also as mentioned in an earlier post you gotta roll the edges of what you do put on the head. I used a golf ball rolling it back and forth. Good luck!